And now for something completely different - Naasad's Carter build

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NaasadTal

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Ok, Ok, so a Carter build isn't all THAT different especially since lately there have been ALOT of Carter builds, but the way I plan on going about the build IS different.

First a little background from the last year...

Early last year, I started a WIP thread for a custom Reach armor & had posted quite a few pics, but I lost interest in the build & my last post was in October 2014, so to avoid getting gigged for necro posting, I'm starting this new thread. I also have changed the direction I'm going with my build & there in lies the other reason for this new thread.

About a month ago, my local Halo group posted a request from our local Microsoft stores to have us onhand for their midnight launch of Halo 5 & the old flame flared bright again. I started my research once again & I came across a picture of a Carter build in progress & I instantly fell in love with the shield Carter wears on his right shoulder. I was originally just going to add the shield to my custom reach armor, but then I decided to watch the game play throughs so I could get the story that I was missing because I've never played the games (I'm not a fan of the xbox or FPS games) & I was instantly awe struck by Reach (I decided it would be the only game that I would break my anti-xbox rule for). After getting thru the play through videos & seeing Noble Team in action, I decided to pursue a Carter build & began research into that.

2 weeks ago Ermac held a raffle for one of his newly cast Commander helmets & VERY much to my surprise I ended up winning the raffle!! Below are pics of the helmet I got from Ermac yesterday:

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It is a REALLY nice helmet, super detailed & good quality & I absolutely love it!

As for weapons, I have begun work on a Reach AR based on a Nerf Rayven to keep with the bullpup design so prevalent in UNSC rifles (yes it WILL stay functional ;))
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I have also been working on this little number for quite a while, I have just a few more details to finish this one up. I am pretty proud of it, aside from having the components to convert it into 3 varients of the Magnum (the M6g, M6h, M6c/SOCOM) it has a functional slide, 2 removable magazines (standard & extended SOCOM) both with bullets & will eventually have lights & lasers
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Here are my chest/back templates:
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Ok, now that the Preliminaries are out of the way, here's where things get "different" with my build...

Most Halo costumers use EVA foam for the construction of their builds & I have seen some AMAZING builds, however foam builds, no matter how well constructed have a couple major flaws. First, they are not as strong as other builds, requiring major replacement parts eventually & 2, no matter what a person does to seal them, they will inevitably end up with little telltale creases that become an eyesore & eventually will require replacement parts, meaning that a foam build is a VERY high maintenance costume.

After a failed attempt (admittedly my own fault) at building a set of Halo Marine armor, I have decided to use Sintra as a major material in my build. Sintra is a PVC foamboard plastic that is sold in large sheets. It is easily cut & molded to various shapes & applications.

My original plan was to use ONLY Sintra in varying thicknesses (3mm & 6mm), but after some thought, I decided to make a hybrid kit. I will be using EVA foam as the base layer for comfort & to get the thickness that Halo armor has, but then I will be putting an outter shell of 3mm sintra over the EVA foam to give it detail as well as the strength & longevity I want. I have tried a couple methods for attaching the plastic layer to the Foam layer & have good success with hot glue (yes even in the Arizona summer). Due to my experince with Mando & 501st builds, I feel pretty confident that my plan will work very well & I look forward to sharing progress with you VERY soon.

Thanx for taking the time to read thru this & I look forward to hearing your thoughts & critiques as I undertake this speed build (October 26th is right around the corner)
 

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Your work looks fantastic...and time consuming. Really digging the guns. I love working with wood.

I did an AR mod to a nerf rayven and it's one of my favorites.

May I suggest putting in one 3.7 volt battery alongside the other AA's to up the overall voltage and revolutions on the rayven's motor? The darts come out much faster.
 

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Your work looks fantastic...and time consuming. Really digging the guns. I love working with wood.

I did an AR mod to a nerf rayven and it's one of my favorites.

May I suggest putting in one 3.7 volt battery alongside the other AA's to up the overall voltage and revolutions on the rayven's motor? The darts come out much faster.

Thank you for the compliments, I have actually been looking for a way to boost the power of my Rayven, thanx for the tip!

*edit* Stang, I didn't see the pic before as I was on mobile (not sure what happened there), your AR looks REALLY great
 
Sorry for the double post...not much of an update, but in between storms here (yes we DO actually get rain in Arizona), I was able to get the visor cut out ( THAT was a pain) & get the helmet cleaned, sanded & primered...

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If all goes well, I'll have the helmet finished, except for the visor, this weekend & then i'll be moving on to the armor.

Thanx for looking!
 

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That helmet looks really good. You're a lucky man. ERMac is am amazing builder and that is a gorgeous cast. Can't wait to see where you take the armor.
 
Alright gang, spent Sunday working on the helmet & got it weathered & padded today!

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all that's left to do is install the visor which I hope to pick up next week. The helmet barely covers my jaw, so I couldn't get too crazy with the padding in the top of the dome so I took the fuzzy side of some velcro & stuck it in there to provide a little padding between me & the bucket.

Lemme know what you think, I'm hoping to have some armor progress to share in the next day or so so stay tuned!
 

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Looks awesome so far man! Amazing paint job on the helmet!! I'm wondering if I should paint and finish my as well or if I should finish all the armor pieces first before painting. And also, what kinds of foam pads are on the inside of that helmet? The yellowish ones I mean. Keep up the awesome work and hope to see more progress as I'm building for the release too. We have the same project deadlines haha :D subscribing to this thread!
 
Your work looks great! Very interesting idea and I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes. By the way, congratulations on the helmet :)
 
Looks awesome so far man! Amazing paint job on the helmet!! I'm wondering if I should paint and finish my as well or if I should finish all the armor pieces first before painting. And also, what kinds of foam pads are on the inside of that helmet? The yellowish ones I mean. Keep up the awesome work and hope to see more progress as I'm building for the release too. We have the same project deadlines haha :D subscribing to this thread!

Thanx much for the comments! I always try to finish my helmet first because it gives me the motivation to continue working on the build (mainly cuz it starts to heckle me from the corner :p) The foam I use (which is actually grey...not sure why the flash made it look yellow) is the stuff you find in boxes where internal computer components are shipped.

Your work looks great! Very interesting idea and I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes. By the way, congratulations on the helmet :)

Thank you for the compliments!

looking good sir. Now I know who you are

Thank you sir! Really glad I did justice to the helmet

...& now for a little update!

Started on the armor today, Cut a few of the chest pieces out of the 3mm Sintra I'll be using for my build. Not super happy with a couple areas on the upper part, so my OCD will probably make me redo them.

Here's my Templates, I sperated the front & back where the actual armor will seperate so I can get in & out of it easier
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Here's the plastic pieces I got cut out & assembled today
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& here are the areas I'm not happy with...the angles should be alot sharper imo
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So only a little progress today which most of it I'll probably end up redoing, but I learned somethings that will help with the rest of the build so I count that as a win! looking forward to getting more done & hearing your feedback as a I continue to progress!
 

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This is coming out really nice man! I cant wait to see the finished thing. I wish I could do Pep but I don't have the patience for it.
 
This is coming out really nice man! I cant wait to see the finished thing. I wish I could do Pep but I don't have the patience for it.

Thanx for the compliments, however, I tried to pep a Reach Gungnir helmet last year & couldn't get the sizing right so I put it down in the interest of saving my sanity. The templates in the pics are foam templates which I am tracing onto & then cutting out of Sintra (a PVC foamboard that acts very much like plastic).

I pinched a nerve in my back so that put me out of commission yesterday, but I'm hopin to get back to it this weekend...thanx again for all the compliments!
 
Damn, buried on page 3 already?! Guess I can't go very long without updates...well boys & girls, time for an update!

I'm still fighting this damn pinched nerve, but I decided to deal with the pain today & get some work done (Oct 26th is coming up REALLY fast)

Today was a trial & error day (that's what happens when you think outside the box :p), After trying twice to get the foam piece to line up with the plastic piece I had already cut out & having to reheat the plastic a couple times (which caused it to shrink), I ended up cutting out new plastic pieces & a third foam piece for the top of the chest. after a bit of clean up on the edges & some final shaping, I came up with this...
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Not a lot of progress, but I'm learning a lot that will help me with the rest of the build. Tomorrow I plan to to finish up the top of the chest & then I think I'm gonna move onto the piece I'm most looking forward to...the backplate!

Lemme know what you guys think!
 

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Not getting comments for some reason so I hope I don't get flagged for consecutive posts

I got the top part of my chest armor done & I'm pretty happy with the turnout. I ended up cutting the side pieces into 2 seperate parts & the corners I didn't like before are MUCH better now.
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GOnna tackle the backplate next...Really hope to get some feedback soon
 

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It's looking really good so far. The shape seems spot on. Can't wait to see it fully built man. Keep up the good work.
 
It's looking really good so far. The shape seems spot on. Can't wait to see it fully built man. Keep up the good work.

Thanx Meatwad...been in a slump the last week, Haven't had the motivation to work on anything, but I've been looking thru threads on here tonight & it's got me wanting to build, but we'll see how I feel after I get home & wake up this afternoon. I've got about a month to finish this thing...it's crunch time so I hope I can get the motivation back STAT
 
So I got hit with a case of the "I don't wanna work on ANYTHING" bug & sadly I don't think that I am going to be able to finish the full set of armor in time for the Launch so I was thinking about what options I have & came up with this...
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I'm thinking like a "Carter's not dead" thing (if video games & soap operas have taught us anything it's that if there's no body, they ain't dead).

Because of how the poncho hangs on me I'd only need to build the full left arm, the right gauntlet & my legs from the knees down. I'm planning to continue working on everything, but before the Launch, I'll focus on minimum parts I'll need to pull this version off & then if I have time, I'll work on the rest.

Would love to get some feedback on this
 

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Sintra over foam..... Brilliant ! ..
esp as a way to add in rigidness to parts..
might work with ABS sheet and Styrene sheet too.
 
Sintra over foam..... Brilliant ! ..
esp as a way to add in rigidness to parts..
might work with ABS sheet and Styrene sheet too.

Thanx Peter, that was the idea. Plus the sintra will lend itself to paint alot better with less work than the foam will...heres hoping I can get the rest of the armor to come out looking good.
 
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